HCMC – The Ministry of Health confirmed 8,681 fresh Covid cases this evening, September 20, including 13 imported cases and 8,668 domestic cases in 38 provinces and cities nationwide. The new domestic infections today were 1,357 cases lower than yesterday and the lowest over the past month.
HCMC as usual took the lead by the case number, at 5,171 cases, down 325 cases day-on-day, followed by the neighboring province of Binh Duong with 1,410 cases, dipping 922 cases. The rest were found in 36 other localities.
More than 6,800 Covid patients were declared free of the disease in the day, raising the country’s recoveries to over 464,000 cases.
Meanwhile, 215 more Covid deaths were confirmed the same day, with HCMC reporting 163 fatalities, and Binh Duong having 163 cases. Accordingly, the country’s Covid death toll has reached 17,305 cases up to now, or 2.5% of the total infections.
In related news, the anti-Covid and health authorities of Thanh Hoa Province this morning removed the lockdown order earlier imposed on the Hop Luc General Hospital, taking the hospital’s operations back to the new normal. After 21 days under lockdown, the hospital has strictly implemented anti-virus measures. To date, the outbreak at the hospital has been put under control.
In HCMC, currently the biggest coronavirus hotspot in the country, delivery workers will be allowed to take rapid Covid tests from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at any of the 800 medical stations in the city starting tomorrow, instead of 5 a.m.-6 a.m. as at present, according to Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade.
Phuong said that this adjustment is expected to help delivery drivers avoid having to queue up for too long for testing.
In Hanoi, people will not be required to present a travel permit while commuting in the city starting from tomorrow. Also, the capital city will intensify the application of technology in monitoring daily travel activities of residents, avoiding creating extra administrative hassles for businesses and individuals, said Chu Xuan Dung, vice chairman of the Hanoi government.
